Narratives of the Sioux war (1915)

[mdenney]

Narratives of the Sioux war (1915)

Author: Satterlee, Marion P
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN
Book Contributor: University of California Libraries
Language: English
Keywords: Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865

--------------------------

Title Narratives of the Sioux war
Creator Satterlee, Marion P
Creator Minnesota Historical Society
Date 1915
Language eng
Possible Copyright Status NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Copyright Region US
Copyright Evidence Evidence reported by judyjordan for item narrativesofsiou00sattrich on September 12, 2007: no visible notice of copyright; stated date is 1915.
Copyright Evidence Date 20070912001308
Contributor University of California Libraries
Media Type texts
Call Number nrlf_ucb:GLAD-151189438
Identifier narrativesofsiou00sattrich
Public Date 2007-09-12 00:13:20
Image Count 36
Scribe Operator [e-mail]
Scribe Station rich9

www.openlibrary.org/details/narrativesofsiou00sattrich
----------

Posting full book

[mdenney]

MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. VOL. XV. PLATE VIII.




JESSE V. BRANHAM, JR. THOMAS G. HOLMES. ALBERT H. SPERRY.




PEOPLE ESCAPING FROM THE Sioux MASSACRE, IN 1862, UNDER GUIDANCE
OF JOHN OTHER DAY, AT DINNER ON A PRAIRIE.






^ *r

^^fcrtfkj



CHAUNCEY LAMSON. NATHAN LAMSON. JAMES BIRNEY LAMSON.



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR.*



BY MARION P. SATTERLEE.



THE ACTON MURDERS, BEGINNING THE MASSACRE.



In recounting the occurrences of the Indian Massacre, the
necessity of differing with the statements and opinions of emi-
nent writers produces an embarrassment, only relieved by the
fact that they could not have witnessed all the incidents, being
dependent upon others mostly for their information. Further,
the tales here recounted are given but slight courtesy by mili-
tary historians, and we shall not trespass upon the military
field, which has been so copiously covered by able authorities.

To those not familiar with events leading up to the Siou.^
Massacre of 1862, it may be briefly stated that in 1851 a trea 4
was made with the Sioux tribes by which they released some
24,000,000 acres of land for a total consideration of $2,075,000.
This was to be paid, a part down and the balance in annuities.
The sum of $495,000 was to be "paid to the chiefs in such
manner as they hereafter in open council shall request." In-
stead, the Indians were forced by the authorities to pay traders'
debts to the amount of $220,000, or go without their money.
The payment of 1862 was held back at least two months while
the Indians were on the verge of starvation. It is the old, old
story of our Indian policy. The Indians could not enforce the
treaties made, and it is doubtful if they were competent to buy
a sack of flour, especially if a bottle of "firewater" was in the
deal. The whole treaty and style of procedure was as farcial
as the negro vote in Mississippi after the war. Missionaries and
officials talked wisely about the "Father at Washington" and
the "Great Spirit," but the effective work was done by unprin-
cipled traders, agents, and the "liquid spirit" which steals
away the brains of men, especially Indians. Trite as their say-



*Read at the monthly meeting of the Executive Council, September
11, 1911.



350 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

ing, "We need the money," was the demand, "We want the
land ; ' ' and a few reckless promises, more or less, given to In-
dians made no difference few were recorded.

Lest this appear pessimistic, it is well to explain that it was
hard to deal reasonably with these strange people who claimed
the land. As said by Rev. Samuel W. Pond, "They were not
models for imitation, neither were they properly objects of con-
tempt." Those who care to investigate will find many reasons
for the outbreak of 1862, but the essential facts are, that the
Indians were obnoxious to and in the way of the whites, were
preyed upon by conscienceless traders and boot-legging liquor-
sellers, and were neglected by the government and its agents,
till at last long smothered anger and acute hunger produced a
storm that broke in fury, the opening event of which was the
murders at Acton on Sunday, the 17th day of August, 1862.

In Acton township, Meeker county, on section 21, lived Rob-
inson Jones, postmaster, Indian trader, and farmer. He was
married to Mrs. Ann Baker the previous year, on January 14;
but through some error her name appears as Ann Baker on the
monument erected over the remains of the victims at Ness
Cemetery. Living with them was Jones' niece, Clara D. Wil-
son, aged fifteen years, and her half brother, eight months old.
The house was a two-story log building overlooking a marshy
lake on the south, and was surrounded by heavy timber known
as the Acton Woods, a part of the once famous "Big Woods."
The Pembina-Henderson trail passed at the back of the house
and along the west side.

About a half mile southeast of this place was a cabin of
small size occupied by Howard Baker, a son of Mrs. Jones by
a former marriage. His family consisted of ,a wife and two
small children, and stopping with them on this day were Mr.
and Mrs. Viranus Webster, who had a day or two before come
from Wisconsin and were looking for a homestead. The house
faced south and was surrounded by timber, and the above men-
tioned trail ran a few feet in front of the house from east to
west. A monument, commemorating the "First Bloodshed of
the Massacre," was erected in 1909 on the site of this cabin.

On the 10th of August, twenty Indians of the Shokpay
(Shakopee) band left the Lower Agency on the Minnesota river



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 351

to hunt in the Big Woods and were divided into several par-
ties. About nine o'clock on this Sunday morning, six of these
Indians appeared at the Jones residence and made the usual
demands for something to eat, and no doubt wanted whiskey in
addition, as they knew that Jones kept it for sale. Chief Big
Eagle, in an account given in Volume VI of this Society's Col-
lections, names four of these Indians, as follows : Sungigidan
(Brown Wing), Ka-om-de-i-ye-ye-dan (Breaking up), Nagi-wi-
cak-te (Killing Ghost), and Pa-zo-i-yo-pa (Runs against some-
thing when crawling). Rev. S. W. Pond names two more;
Hdinapi and Wam-du-pi-dan, as taking part. This treacherous
pair had married into the Shokpay band. All of the six claimed
the distinction of doing the killing, and all probably did shed
blood, as five people were shot down, four of them within a few
seconds of time. With the honor goes the disgrace of causing
the loss of lands and money of all the Sioux in the state of
Minnesota, and the massacre of about a thousand innocent
people.

One of these Indians had borrowed a gun from Jones the
preceding spring, and had not returned it as agreed. This act
might now be deemed a trivial matter, but it was not so when
people lived largely by hunting and guns were not on sale.
Jones was a stalwart man and had no fear of, or regard for,
the Indians. He refused to give them anything, and entered
into an altercation with them over the borrowed gun. The
Indians became angry and left, going toward the cabin where
the Baker and Webster families were living. Knowing that
the newcomers would be alarmed at the appearance of the
Indians, Jones locked up the house, leaving the niece and her
brother inside, and, taking his gun, went over to the Baker
cabin, his wife accompanying him.

The Indians had made no demonstration when they arrived.
Baker's little son had given them water, and the men had fur-
nished them with tobacco ; but, when Jones came up, the quar-
rel over the gun was renewed and the Indians became very
sullen. Finally, they wanted to trade guns, and incidentally
to shoot at a mark. One of the Indians and Baker traded guns,
the Indian paying three dollars boot in the trade. A target
was fixed on an oak tree some six rods from the cabin, and a



352 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

trial of guns was made. Afterward all returned to the house,
the Indians immediately reloading as if they were going on
hunting. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Baker, with the two children,
were in the house, and Baker, after hanging up his unloaded
gun, stood in the doorway, leaning against the casing. Mrs.
Webster was in the wagon near by, getting out some articles
wanted, and Mr. Webster, who had not been shooting with the
rest, was carrying the things to the house from the wagon.
Jones, evidently suspicious of trouble, had stepped around the,
corner of the house to reload his gun. One of the Indians
walked a distance on the road toward the Jones place, and
the others were about the cabin door. Suddenly one of them,
carrying his gun across his elbow and standing near Mr. Baker
at the door, shot him through without lifting the gun from his
arm. Immediately the shooting was participated in by all the
Indians. Mrs. Jones was shot while sitting just inside the door,
Mr. Webster in the dooryard, and Jones, who ran toward the
woods, endeavoring to load his gun as he went, was shot down
near a corncrib about three rods from the house. Mrs. Baker
had her youngest child in her arms and was either pushed or
fell into the cellar through an open trap door, where she
stayed until the Indians left. Mrs. Webster in her fright fell
down in the covered wagon and was not molested, nor was the
oldest child who lay on the bed in the cabin. After the shoot-
ing the Indians went north on the trail, and, in passing the
house of Jones, caught sight of Clara Wilson, shot her to death
through a window in the pantry, and then continued on out
of the woods. There were left alive, of the three families, Mrs.
Baker and two children, Mrs. Webster, and the baby boy at
the Jones place.

Contrary to all succeeding events of this kind, they did not
mutilate the dead, nor steal or burn property, which leads to
the conclusion that enmity toward Jones and his family was
the real motive of the murders. They did not get any liquor
at the Jones place, and liquor cannot be blamed for the tragedy,
for the settlers found afterward that the house was not en-
tered, nor the liquor kept there disturbed. The fact that Jones
kept liquor and sold it to the Indians, led many of the set-
tlers to think that the murders were simply the outcome of a

[mdenney]

NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 353

drunken brawl, but that there was no outbreak of a general
nature, and some were probably killed while delaying flight on
this theory. There are many stories of Indians appearing at
different places in the neighborhood during the same after-
noon, and probably some of the band of twenty hunters did
appear; but it is certain that the six who did the killing were
the ones who soon after made a show of arms and stole a team
of horses, with which they carried the news of the murders
to Little Crow at the Lower Agency that night. The war for
the extermination of the whites commenced at daybreak next
morning.

Four Indians came to the residence of Peter Wicklund, at
Lake Elizabeth, a few miles from the Baker place, while the
families of A. M. Ecklund, P. M. Johnson and Jonas Peterson
were at dinner with the Wicklunds. Two came to a window
and two at the door, and pointed their guns threateningly at
the people. Mrs. Ecklund got up from the table and went to
them, and, pushing their guns aside, demanded to know what
they wanted. They told the men to come out as they wanted
to talk with them. The men, four in number, went out with
them a few rods from the house and were told that the Chip-
pewa (Ojibway) Indians had murdered the Jones and Baker
families at Acton. The settlers did not believe them and went
back to the house, and the Indians went away. On going to
feed the stock that night, it was found that the team of Mr.
Ecklund had been stolen. Indians riding double on two horses,
with a third holding to each horse's tail and running, were
seen that afternoon going toward the Agency.

After the shooting at the Baker place, the women finally
came from their places of concealment and cared for Jones,
who lived for some time in such terrible agony that he tore
up the ground in his death writhings. They took the two chil-
dren and went to the residence of John Blackwell, about four
miles west of the present Litchfield; but not finding anyone
there, went to the home of Nels Olson and told their pitiful
story. Ole Ingeman was at once sent as a messenger to Forest
City, the county seat, with the news, and the settlers organized
a party to go to the scene of the tragedy.

23



354 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

The party started from the Tver Jackson place, eleven in
number, and, approaching the house from the east, they went
up cautiously and called, if any were there alive, to "cry out,"
but received no response. It was about nine in the evening
and the moon was shining, but it was dark in the woods.
After a time they went into the house and lit a lamp, with
which they found the bodies. They covered the body of Jones,
which lay outside, with a wagon box to keep off animals, closed
the door of the cabin where the other bodies were, and then
debated the safety of going to the Jones place, where the chil-
dren had been left, fearing that the Indians were there in a
drunken carousal. They decided that it would not be advis-
able to go, and had started to return, when they were joined
by another party of six, and as they were now seventeen, they
determined to go.

On arriving at the Jones place all was still, and entering
the house, with the lamp which they had brought, they found
Clara Wilson dead on the pantry floor, where she lay in a pool
of blood. On their opening the door into a bedroom, the little
boy got up from the bed and began to cry. The slug which
killed the girl was found and kept for a number of years by
Evan Evanson, a member of the party. Taking the boy, they
returned to the Iver Jackson place, where the neighbors had
assembled.

The next morning settlers from all parts of the surround-
ing country gathered at the Baker place to bury the dead, and
to consider this act of the Indians, whether it was mere mur-
der, or if the long threatened outbreak had indeed begun.
Rough boxes were made for the five bodies, and as they were
about ready at noon to start for the Ness settlement, eleven
mounted Indians appeared over the hill about forty rods to
the southeast, coming toward the cabin, who on seeing the
gathering stopped. Some of the men hailed them and started
toward them, but apparently scenting danger they turned and
fled to the south. They were followed to a marshy run which
they rode through but the settlers could not cross. A party
was then made up, among whom were J. B. Atkinson, A. H.
DeLong, and James McGraw, who followed the Indians for
several miles but could not overtake them.



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 355

The bodies were then taken to the Ness settlement ceme-
tery and buried, and the graves are now marked by a mon-
ument placed by the State. The day following the burial, the
news of the massacre reached most of the settlers by means of
a party escaping from the Agency, conducted by John Other
Day, a friendly Indian, and the settlers gathered at Forest
City, where a stockade was erected and a home guard com-
pany organized under Capt. George C. Whitcomb. However,
many settlers in the county of Monongalia (the north half of
the present Kandiyohi county) did not hear the news in time
to escape, and nearly a hundred were killed by the Indians.



THE BATTLE OF ACTON OR KELLY'S BLUFF.

An English soldier said that "the glory of war, for the
private, consists in getting killed in battle and having your
name misspelled in the army reports." This was much the case
of the Minnesota settler who fought off the Indians, either
alone or in assisting army troops. Perhaps had the civil war
been off the map of events, history might have been more kind.
It was not for grand parade that citizens were asked to leave
their families and go into the unknown districts to rescue
friends and relatives from savages; on the contrary, it was to
encounter certain hardship and suffering, and perhaps death
in a terrible form. Neither was there then, as now, a floating
population ready to enter the work from the love of excite-
ment. These men were from the leading business houses and
homes of Minneapolis, and they responded to the call of hu-
manity in the same spirit as the "Boys of '76," when danger
threatened their homes. They went out to meet a foe that
knew no rules of war and gave no quarter in victory. We
know now, that had Fort Ridgely fallen, every Indian tribe in
the state would have been in war-paint and there would have
been a question if the streets of our Twin Cities might not have
flowed with blood as did those of New Ulm. While St. Paul's
contingent went forth, led by the Indian fighter, General H.
H. Sibley, the Minneapolis men were raw recruits, led by an
inexperienced leader. It was a body of men to be proud of,
who consented to face these conditions, stayed the tide of mur-



356 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL, SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

der, and stopped the rush of settlers from the state. The band
known as Strout's Company, including a part of his Company
B, Ninth Minnesota Regiment, were about one third volunteer
soldiers and two thirds citizens in and about Minneapolis.

In keeping with the spirit of the times a song was written,
commencing thus:

"Brave Captain Strout and Company B,

They will make the redskins flee,

And drive them west into the sea,

And stop the warwhoop forever.

Chorus: The Union forever, hurrah, boys, hurrah,
Kill every Indian, papoose and squaw;
The Indians must be slain or driven to the plain
And silence the warwhoop forever."

While the meter and rhyme are somewhat irregular, the
emotion is too plainly expressed to be mistaken, and the In-
dian warwhoop was " silenced forever," so far as Minnesota is
concerned. It is endeavored here to collect the full data of
this campaign of Indian fighters, and no pains have been spared
to get the names, routes, camping spots, and dates, to a nicety,
and accurate beyond dispute.

General history is very mute regarding Captain Richard
Strout and his men who fought off the Sioux Indians at Acton
on September 3, 1862, for three reasons:

First, the petty jealousy in public work, among leaders, in-
cluding the printed abuse of a former Land Office appointee,
who at the time pretty nearly directed the Indian war, if you
let him tell it.

Second, the company was composed of citizens who went
forth of their own accord, virtually a sheriff's posse, such as
might be picked up now to arrest robbers. About twenty were
newly enlisted, undrilled soldiers, and the rest civilians. This
fact has kept the company out of military history, or, worse,
"d**ned it with faint praise."

Third, the "tee-hee" crowd, who saw an excruciatingly
funny side to the Indian war, made these citizen soldiers the
butt of much ridicule, despite the fact that, outnumbered more
than four times, they beat off a savage foe, who later annihi-
lated the idolized Custer and his unexcelled Indian-fighting
soldiers. Add to this the efforts of misinformed writers, who,



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 357

having no knowledge of the times, Indians, or pioneer condi-
tions, have elaborated or twisted the story until a participant,
as Private DeWitt C. Handy says, "has to scratch his head to
remember if he was in the battle."

It is true that these men w r ere not soldiers, and many were
like A. H. Rose, who says, "I had never fired a gun before the
battle, but they showed me how to load, and I pointed my gun
at the Indians, shut my eyes, and pulled the trigger."

These are the chief reasons that Captain Strout and Com-
pany B are almost unknown in their home city. Many parties
are now dead, and harsh language is unbecoming; but only the
tongue of slander can tell other than this: "Strout and his
men went forth in good faith, and performed their duty boldly
and without wavering, so far as they were able. ' ' For defense
of this position read the story.

On Sunday, August 17, 1862, five persons were massacred
by Sioux Indians at Acton, in Meeker county. This outrage
precipitated the celebrated Minnesota Sioux Indian War of
that year. Word was received in Minneapolis the 19th, and
following this came tidings from the Lower Agency that every
person there had been killed, that Company B, of the Fifth
Minnesota, under Captain Marsh, had been ambushed and
nearly all slaughtered, and that the Indians had commenced
the long threatened "war of extermination." By the next day
the refugees from near settlements came pouring through the
city in mortal fear of Indians, panic-stricken, deserting every-
thing and fleeing for life. Fears for the safety of relatives and
friends on the frontier, and anger at the horrible outrages
committed, created intense excitement. Sunday, the 24th, was
a memorable time at the churches and public gatherings. It
was decided that the state and citizens must act at once, and
not wait for the slow moving general government, or the state
would be depopulated and ruined.

Leading in the earnest movement, Captain Strout, who was
organizing a company for the Ninth Minnesota volunteers, was
ordered to gather what he could of his company (the men were
on leave preparatory to enter the service), enlist citizens for
short term service, and report at Glencoe, McLeod county. On
Tuesday the 26th, at noon, the company assembled at Bridge

[mdenney]

358 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

Square, on Nicollet avenue and Second street, about sixty men
strong, not including teamsters. They were equipped with
discarded, smooth-bore Austrian muskets, no uniforms, nor
sufficient wagon train, but the captain had authority to impress
teams as he might need them. Each member was given his
complement of ball cartridge, and they marched away up the
river, and camped in the northern part of Brooklyn township
that night.

The next morning a team owned by Andrew Smith was im-
pressed from D. B. Thayer's threshing crew, at Osseo, and
others were secured along the route till a good part of the men
could ride. Wednesday night they camped at Monticello in
Wright county, after a hard march. Thursday they made a
fifteen-mile march, camping at night in Clearwater. Friday a
march of thirty-five miles to Forest City ended at dusk. Sat-'
urday they went by way of Greenleaf and Cedar Mills to
Hutchinson, where they camped about the church. On the
day's march they found one place where the people had fled
leaving the table spread for a meal, at another the beds were
thrown open as if flight had commenced in the night. But
they saw no Indians, nor further signs.

Sunday morning, August 31, they marched to Glencoe, their
objective point, and arrived in time for the church meeting.
As matters were reported serious at the settlements lying to
the northwest, it was decided to return to Forest City, so on
Monday they marched back to Cedar Mills, where camp was
pitched. On Tuesday they went leisurely to Acton, and con-
siderable time was spent in repairing a bad slough crossing, a
fortunate job. On that afternoon they entered the Acton
woods from the east, and after inspecting the Baker place,
where four persons had been murdered, they marched on to
the Jones place and pitched their camp. The place was sur-
rounded by timber, and the tents were set in the yard about
the house.

Captain Strout has been criticized for camping in these
woods, despite the fact that no damage resulted from the act.
In reply to his critics, let us note that the Sioux were prairie
Indians, and there is no record of their selecting a battle
ground in timber. Birch Coulie and Wood Lake were fought



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 359

on the prairie; Ouster's command was slaughtered in the open.
The two latter fields were selected for battle by the Indians.
At Acton the Indians had the command surrounded in the
dense timber, and could have forced battle had they so de-
sired. The opening tragedy of Birch Coulie is a sample of
what Strout might have met had he camped in the open prairie.

The Sioux strong point in fighting was to make themselves
invisible by covering their heads and bodies with prairie grass,
which practice has caused men time and again to testify that
''the Indians seemed to rise out of the ground." Furthermore,
the attack was not made next morning until the company was
a long mile from the woods, though Indians were in the timber
at the time. It is not known that Captain Strout considered
the question, but his judgment is not censurable if he did.

On this Tuesday, September 2, Captain George C. Whit-
comb and a squad of the Forest City Home Guards were at
Hokan Peterson's place, about twelve miles from Forest City.
He was watching Indians at the Acton woods, some three or
four miles off, when suddenly about 150 Indians rose from the
grass a few rods away. The squad escaped in short order but
lost a wagon which stuck in a miry place. On arriving at For-
est City, Captain Whitcomb found Strout 's messenger, saying
that his company would camp at Acton that night. From what
he had seen, Whitcomb knew that the Indians were preparing
to entrap Strout 's command. He at once called for volunteer
scouts to warn Strout of his danger and tell him to examine his
ammunition. Three brave fellows, Jesse V. Branham, Jr.,
Thomas G. Holmes, and Albert H. Sperry, stepped forward.

A digression here is needed for the benefit of the present
generation, regarding conditions of those days. Sioux Indians
on the prairie were as treacherous as snakes in grass. They
were absolutely noiseless in action, would crawl as fast as white
men walk, and were nearly as fleet of foot as a horse. There
were no roads, as we know them now; such as there were con-
sisted of trails following the high ground to avoid the marshes,
and leading to the best places to cross prairie streams, which
often made long detours necessary. Every Indian knew them,
foot by foot, and also knew every short cut which might be
traveled under favorable conditions of weather or season.



360 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL, SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

It was the duty of these men to find a roundabout way to
get to Acton, to avoid usual crossings where they might be
waylaid, keep away from the prairie groves where they might
be ambushed by straggling parties, discover any Indians en-
deavoring to cut them off on the prairies, and lastly to dis-
cover and approach Strout's camp wherever he might be by
breaking through the Indian lines, which they knew were
drawn about him waiting only for daylight to give battle.
Those who appreciate the conditions will wonder that men
would dare to undertake it. The squad was placed in charge
of Branham, a man of undoubted ability and courage. Cap-
tain Whitcomb wrote later, "I feared I would never see them
again." They went east several miles passing between Litch-
field and Darwin, as now known, then southwest passing be-
tween Round and Minnie Belle lakes, far down into Greenleaf
township, thence northwest by Evanson lake, where they struck
the Henderson-Pembina trail. At the outlet of the lake they
hunted on hands and knees, in the mud, till they found evi-
dence that Strout's train had passed and was following the
trail toward Acton.

Nearly the entire time they traveled on the grass outside
the road to deaden the sound of the horses' hoofs. Finally
they approached the Acton woods after passing Kelly's Bluff.
All was deathly still about them until as they reached the
Baker cabin the dogs rushed out barking loudly, no doubt
revealing their presence to the Indians, but not to the sleeping
company. There is little question, judging from developments
and Indian tales, that a score of warriors slunk from the road
and permitted the scouts to pass in, believing their prey would
be increased just that much. After the noise and alarm they
felt their way more cautiously than ever. Branham put his
hand on Holmes' shoulder, as they reached the Jones place,
and asked if he could not see the white tents in the yard.
Holmes assented, they hailed the guard and were admitted,
where they delivered to Captain Strout their message. Captain
Whitcomb writes:

It has been shown beyond the shadow of doubt that when Bran-
ham, Sperry and Holmes were within six rods of Strout's camp, a head
warrior, brother-in-law of Little Six (Shok-pay), with his warriors



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 361

stood on the road, and at their approach eleven on each side stepped
back, allowing them to pass in. Red Dog was to lead the attack on
the north, Mic-aw-pan-eta on the east, Little Six on the south, and
Bald Eagle, a renegade chief of the Standing Buffalo band, on the west.
Signals were to be given by hooting, in imitation of an owl from tree
tops, to show the location of the leaders. Little Crow had the super-
vision of the attack. At 3 a. m. the final signal was to be given and
the harvest of death to begin, but the awful consequences were averted
by the timely message carried by these three brave men who proved
themselves the bravest of the brave.

A council was called, and a detail was set at pounding
down the large caliber bullets to fit the guns. After consulta-
tion it was decided not to break camp till daylight, though
some favored an immediate retreat to the open prairie. In-
structions were given, in case of attack, "to hug the ground
and fight, each for himself." There is some criticism placed
on Captain Strout for this misfit in ammunition. The facts
are, that the state had a number of Austrian and Belgian
muskets, bored 62 and 59 (lOOths inch) caliber, and ammuni-
tion to fit. Criminal carelessness on the part of the issuing
officer transposed the sizes. Captain Grant and Company A of
the Sixth Minnesota were confronted with the same mistake,
and this in the midst of the bloody battle of Birch Coulie. The
proper cartridges for these guns were sent to Fort Abercrom-
bie, where they were too small to be of service, and the bullets
flew wild from the guns. The first lot issued by Strout was
right, and he had no reason to suspect that the rest was dif-
ferent. That night each man had twenty rounds perfect, the
reserve was all wrong.

Camp was broken early in the morning, and Branham, on
Strout 's advice, was to lead them out without a battle if pos-
sible, on account of the poor arms and ammunition. He was
placed in charge of the mounted men, consisting of his detail
and scout A. H. DeLong, and led the way some distance in
advance. Branham intended to go to Forest City by the route
the scouts had taken. The command left the woods and pro-
ceeded on the trail across a rolling prairie, with Long lake on
their left. Passing through a swale and while ascending to
higher ground, the scouts saw a peculiar glisten in the morn-
ing sunlight and soon became convinced that it was caused by

[mdenney]

362 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

guns in the hands of Indians, who were skulking along a fence
in a wheat field near Kelly's Bluff. It was afterward found
that these guns were Springfields from Captain Marsh's com-
pany, massacred at Redwood Ferry August 18th. Word was
sent back to Strout to prepare to fight, and to spread his men
in wide open order. The scouts and Indians exchanged shots.

Indian signals, waving blankets and yelling, were com-
menced ahead ; and soon a large body of mounted Indians, from
the woods, charged the rear. Sergeant Kenna was ordered to
charge them with a squad of twenty men ; as he did so the In-
dians spread out from the trail and came up on each rear
flank, trying to encircle the command. At this point the com-
pany were on very low ground, and the losses were severe.
Privates George W. Gideon and Alva Getchell were killed, sev-
eral others were wounded, and for a short time there was con-
fusion of both men and teams. Scout Branham was shot
through the lungs and thus a valuable aid was put out of the
fight. In a few moments Strout had matters in hand. The
company was divided into four squads, under Lieutenant Clark
and Sergeants Getchell and Kenna, and placed at the front,
rear, right and left of the wagon train, and they soon spread
out, driving the redskins back, at the same time making less
of a target of themselves. By strenuous fighting the left squad
kept the Indians from getting between them and the lake,
while the others, by driving them back, permitted the wagons
to reach the higher and more advantageous ground. It was
good maneuvering, and most gallantly performed. Reaching
the base of Kelly's Bluff, it was debated whether to entrench
or to retreat toward Hutchinson, and it was decided to go to
that point. Scout DeLong had already gone through the In-
dian lines for reinforcements from Captain Harrington at
Hutchinson.

Along Kelly's Bluff Private Edwin Stone was killed and
several more wounded. The dead were left behind and their
bodies were horribly mutilated, when buried by a detachment
from the Third Minnesota a few days later. Every wounded
man was placed in the wagons, and the retreating fight was
continued to Cedar Mills. At the marshy crossing repaired
the previous day, the Indians pressed them hard and captured



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 363

one team and two wagons. In fact they had calculated to cap-
ture or kill the whole outfit at this point, and would have suc-
ceeded if those repairs had not been made. Everything that
could be spared was thrown from the wagons, and the way
the Indians fought each other for the food was amusing even
in battle. About fifty noble warriors on hands and knees fought
for a half barrel of sugar like pigs, and the pursuit lagged.
Scout DeLong with reinforcements met the company a short
way out of Hutchinson. On that night the wounded were
placed in a hotel, just outside the stockade, and at daylight
next morning the Indians attacked the town and their quar-
ters were riddled with bullets, but all were safely taken into
the stockade.

The losses of the company in the battle were three killed,
eighteen wounded, nine horses, two wagons, and all commis-
sary supplies. The battle was the fiery baptism of a number
of good soldiers of the civil war, some of whom fell in battle,
some perished in Andersonville, and some, thank God, still live.
The result of the campaign was the discouragement of Little
Crow and his followers. This was the fourth and last battle
which he personally conducted in the massacre war of 1862.

It is but fair to say that fortune was kind to Strout and
his men, but none the less must we commend th,e noble inten-
tions and acts of those heroic citizens who placed their lives in
jeopardy for the stricken, outraged settlers. The savage
hordes have gone ; the commander and most of his company
are beyond the veil of death ; and glorious Minnesota has risen
from an unknown wilderness to a peerage among the States.

This account is as accurate as can be given at this time,
and is verified by several members of that gallant body of home
defenders. On the 21st of August, 1909, a monument was
placed at Acton, at the Baker place, by the state, marking the
site of the ''First Bloodshed." There were present, of the sur-
vivors of this battle, A. H. Rose, DeWitt C. Handy, Milton C.
Stubbs, James Marshall, Scouts Jesse V. Branham, Albert
Sperry, and A. H. DeLong; of people interested in the event,
Evan Evanson, who accompanied the party to the Jones house
after the murders of the 17th, Nathan Butler, who built the
Baker house in 1857, Hon. G. A. Glader, who assisted in bury-



364 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL, SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

ing the bodies of Stone, Getchell, and Gideon, a few days after
the battle, and Mrs. Ellen, widow of Capt. Lewis Harrington,
of the Hutchinson Home Guards. To all of these thanks are
due for the details of this account. The exercises were under
the supervision of Senator J. W. Wright of Litchfield, and
were participated in by several thousand citizens.

About a year after the foregoing narrative was read in the
meeting of this Society, a banquet was given at the Nicollet
House in Minneapolis, on the evening of November 20, 1912,
to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of
Acton and to honor its survivors.

At the appointed hour the tables were filled by groups of
men whose past career or present relations made them con-
genial company, and not the least in the pleasures of the even-
ing were the visits of friends recounting the events of a half
century ago. After the repast, which was accompanied with
patriotic selections by veteran Charles H. Freeman's orchestra,
President Anton Knoblauch opened the meeting with the fol-
lowing words:

"Friends and Members: We are guests of the Center Improvement
Association, whose object is not only that which its name implies, but
also to preserve and perpetuate the history, traditions, and landmarks
of this section of our city. We are here this evening to honor Captain
Strout's Company of citizen soldiers, partially made up of business
men from this part of the city, who in September, 1862, went to battle
at Acton and Hutchinson against the Sioux Indians, so that the set-
tlers might pursue the tilling of their lands unmolested."

Mr. Knoblauch then introduced Marion P. Satterlee as mas-
ter of ceremonies for the evening, who, by the aid of Edward
A. Bromley's stereopticon views, told of the upbuilding of the
Association district since 1858. Then followed a description
of the organization of Strout's Company, during the excite-
ment of the massacre tidings of murder and destruction; of
the sacrifices of these men, who left their families and homes to
fight the savages. A detailed statement of their marches and
the battles was given, also an account of the killing of Chief
Little Crow by Nathan Lamson and his son Chauncey, near
Hutchinson, on July 3, 1863.



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 365

A most able address was given by Ex-President William W.
Folwell of the State University, on ' ' The Causes leading to the
Massacre of 1862."

The roll of the men composing the Company was then
called; ten responded to their names, eleven were reported
absent, 27 were reported dead, and for 22 no report was made.

In response to the toast, "To the Dead," Ex-Governor
Samuel R. Van Sant gave a fine eulogy of the men who died
for their country fighting rebellion in the South or the Indians
at home. He declared that the present generation is receiving
the benefits of the deeds of patriots, Union, Confederate, and
civilian soldiers, whose work lives after them.

To the toast, "To the Absent," Edward A. Bromley re-
sponded, comparing the sad absence long ago of loved ones
"gone to the war" with our regrets for those absent from this
reunion.

The toast, "To those Present," was responded to by J. H.
Crandall, a member of Strout's Company, who encouraged all
to show their appreciation of our triumphal progress as a
nation, in war and in peace, by true manhood and right living.

At the call for soldiers of the Sioux War present, twelve
men who fought at Birch Coulie, and four or five each from
Fort Ridgely, New Ulm, Forest City and Wood Lake battles,
responded by rising and were heartily cheered.

ROSTER OF CAPTAIN STROUT'S COMPANY AT ACTON.
At the Roll Call after the banquet those present responded
to their names ; for the dead and the absent, response was made
by members of the Company.

Adkins, F., dead. Corratt, C., no report.

Allan, William C., present. Crandall, James H., present.

Ames, James A., dead. Gushing, M., no report.

Beadle, Frank, sergeant, dead. Day, J. W., in California.
Bennett, Abner C., died of wounds. Doherty, A., in city.
Blondo, Lyman, dead. Douglass, C. H., no report.

Bostwick, R. C., dead. Florida, Joel, dead.

Brown, W., quartermaster sergt., Friederich, A. A., present.

dead. Gemasche, George, no report.

Carr, Ezra T., sergeant, dead. Getchell, Alva, killed at Acton.
Chambers, Thomas, dead. Getchell, D. W., sergeant, in city.

Clark, W. A., lieutenant, dead. Gideon, George W., killed at Acton.



366



MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.



Green, John, dead.
Ham, C. D., no report.
Handy, DeWitt C., present.
Handy, Joel, dead.
Hanscomb, A. B., no report.
Hawkins, D. C., no report.
Hart, Joseph, no report.
Higgins, Judson C., in city.
Hoag, A., no report.
Hubbard, R. R., no report.
Huckins, J. W., Northfield.
Hunter, William, no report.
Jacques, Winter, in city.
Johnson, C., in city.
Kenna, Michael, sergeant, dead.
Kirtz, Fred, no report.
Laraway, Albert, dead.
Larkins, J. K., no report.
Little, George W., no report.
McConnell, J. C., no report.
McNeill, Neill, dead.
Marshall, James, present.
Marshall, Thomas, dead.
Mayer, Robert, no report.
Merritt, L. W., in city.
Morrison, George H., dead.
Muir, Robert, no report.



Murch, J. P., no report.
Murray, John W., present.
Perkins, J. H., dead.
Rose, Anson H., present.
Smith, H. A., no report.
Snell, S. D., no report.
. Stone, Edwin, killed at Acton.
Strout, Richard, captain, dead.
Stubbs, Milton C., present.
Sweeney, James, Robbinsdale.
Sweesing, Fred, present.
Thompson, N. R., dead.
Tippin, F., no report.
Weeks, N. R., died of wounds.
Wise, A. H., no report.
Wolverton, J. A., dead.
Worthingham, Emory, dead.

SCOUTS.

Jesse V. Branham, Jr., Fargo,

Thomas G. Holmes, Long Beach,
Cal.,

Albert H. Sperry, present, these be-
ing of Captain Whitcomb's Com-
pany, Forest City.

Albert H. DeLong, Forest City,
Citizen guide for Captain Strout.



THE KILLING OF CHIEF LITTLE CROW.

Tay-o-ah-ta-doo-tah (His Scarlet People) was the third
chief of the Kaposia band of Medawakantonwan Dakotas
(Sioux) to be known by the name of ''Little Crow." This
tribe was divided into eight bands. The lower band, called
Kiuska, lived where Winona now stands; the Kaposia band,
just below St. Paul; Black Dog, just above Fort Snelling;
Pinisha, at Nine Mile creek on the Minnesota river; Reyata
Otonwa, at Lake Calhoun; Tewapa, at Eagle creek; and the
Tintatonwan, at Shakopee, the largest village of the tribe.
Little Crow had six wives and at least twenty-two children.
He put away his first two wives when he married the third one.
His mother was named Minne-okha-da-win (musical sound of
water running under the ice). His family history was one of



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR. 367

tragedy. His father was accidentally shot while pulling his
gun from a wagon, and died of the wounds. Two brothers
were killed by the Chippewas, and two sisters committed sui-
cide. Little Crow's braves killed two of his brothers in a bat-
tle for the chieftainship, and he was shot through both wrists
in the fight. Army surgeons would cut off the maimed wrists,
but it was refused and the Indian medicine man proved his
superiority by saving his patient and both wrists. The wounds
were disfiguring and were always concealed by bands of skunk-
skin, as degrading to a chief.

Little Crow is the reputed leader in the Massacre of 1862,
though he was only a minor chief in the Sioux tribe. As a
matter of fact, he was defied by a large number of friendly
(or at least neutral) Indians, who threatened several times to
take his captive whites from him, and who saved many white
people from being murdered. Little Crow had more credit
than was his due, and investigation will show that the mas-
sacre was chiefly the work of a disorganized gang of cut-
throats whom no one could call warriors in a true sense. After
the crushing defeat at Wood Lake by Gen. H. H. Sibley, Little
Crow fled into Dakota, from whence he returned the follow-
ing summer (1863), for the purpose of stealing horses and
provisions from the Minnesota settlers. His companions were
his son, Wo-wi-napa (One who appeareth), Hi-u-ka, a son-in-
law, and a number of others. They committed a number of
depredations, among others killing James McGannon in Wright
county. The story of the shooting here given is related by J.
B. Lamson (called Birney), of Annandale, Minn., the brother
of Chauncey, and son of Nathan, who jointly killed Little Crow
on July 3, 1863.

In the early summer of 1863 (following the massacre, which com-
menced August 17, 1862), most of the neighboring settlers at Hutch-
inson were gathered at the village so as to be near the stockade,
which was guarded by soldiers and civilians, in expectation of attack
by the Indians who had been on the warpath since the outbreak, and
who had previously attacked the town in September, 1862. Some of
the settlers were trying to raise a little crop for food, on their farms,
and the work was done by a part of the family while others were
scouting for Indians. I had spent most of the spring on our home-
stead, about six miles directly north of the village, caring for the



368 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

stock and crops, which though small were very valuable to the set-
tlers who were defying the savages and holding to their homesteads.
On the 3rd of July I had gone to the village to spend the Fourth,
and father and my brother Chauncey had taken my place at the farm
and on that evening were out hunting for deer. About an hour be-
fore sundown they were a strong two miles northwest from the farm,
on a road running by a marshy lake (there were a number of such
marshes or lakes called by the Indians "Scattered lake") ; and at the
point described there was a low place where the water crossed the
road in the spring, and just beyond the ground rose again. Farther
on was a bend where the road bore away to the right to pass around
the lake, and at the opposite side from the marsh there was a black-
berry patch of considerable size. Where the road ran out into the
clearing, it was some distance of open brush to the dry run. Father
and Chauncey walked into this open space for several rods in plain
sight of the patch, when suddenly they observed an Indian jump on
his pony and then off on the other side from them. Providentially,
the Indian had not observed them, and they immediately sought cover
in the brush and laid their plans; for to see an Indian meant death
to him or his white enemy in those days.

Father was past sixty-three years old, but he was a true frontiers-
man, and brother Chauncey was not behind in frontier training. They
had hurriedly noticed that there were two Indians and did not know
but that there were more. After consultation Chauncey took a posi-
tion which covered the road between them and the Indians. Kneeling
on one knee, with his rifle thingyed, he held his position while father
crept forward and to the left till he got a poplar tree in the black-
berry patch in direct line between him and the Indians. He then
went forward to the poplar which was covered with vines, and from
this vantage point, at a distance of about thirty-five feet, he shot the
larger one of the two Indians (Little Crow), the ball entering the left
groin. Both Indians and father went to the ground at the shot, and
all was quiet as death, while each was trying to locate the other.
Father was armed with a Colt revolver and thought he would try
another shot at them with this, but he was not expert in its use and
concluded to keep it for close quarters, if necessary.

The Indians seemed unable to locate the spot from which the shot
had come, but father knew that the smoke from the black powder
would soon rise from the tree and realized that he must get away
from there. He had crawled back in his own path for about two rods
when they riddled the tree with shot. It was afterward found that
one slug and thirteen buckshot had struck it. One buckshot struck
father on the left shoulder, as he was crawling away on hands and
knees, which made a slight flesh wound about four inches in length;
this caused him to change his course and get out of the line of fire.
He turned squarely to the right and went a few feet, and then he



NARRATIVES OF THE SIOUX WAR.

tried to load his rifle but got a bullet several bores too large for the
gun; it stuck about five inches from the muzzle, and he could not
force it home. Being afraid that his white shirt would be seen by the
Indians, he took it off and tucked it inside his trousers from where
he subsequently lost it. Crawling to the road, he crossed it and con-
cealed himself in a clump of hazel brush about sixteen feet across.
He determined to stay there and to use his revolver if discovered.

Little Crow skulked round the raspberry patqh, following the road,
and as he came in range Chauncey saw him and rose to his feet to
shoot. Both fired, and so close were the reports together that the
roar of Little Crow's shotgun drowned the crack of Chauncey's rifle
to father. Little Crow was skulking in the Indian style, leaning far
forward, his gun extended, with the butt almost at his shoulder, so
as to get instant aim. He shot from the left shoulder, but evidently
he did not get his gun to the shoulder before firing, as Chauncey's
bullet struck the stock of his gun and then entered the left breast.
Passing well through his stooping body, it stopped just inside the skin
of his back, only a few inches from where father's bullet had come
out. A slug from Litle Crow's shotgun grazed Chauncey's head. Both
went to the ground, and Chauncey commenced to reload his rifle, when
he discovered that he had no bullets, and then he remembered that on
leaving the house father had taken all the bullets from the table and
slipped them into his pocket. This also accounts for father getting a
bullet too large for his gun, as the rifles were of different caliber or
bore.

Being thus unarmed, and not daring to approach the brush where
he had seen father go, Chauncey determined on a ruse to draw the
Indians away from him, if possible. He crept away a fed rods, then
boldly rose up in plain sight and started on a run for Hutchinson.
Father could not see this from his place of concealment, nor did he
know the effect of Little Crow's shot. He did know that the Indian
had fallen not ten feet from where he lay, and he could hear his groans
of anguish, and he lay perfectly still waiting events. After a time the
son Wo-wi-napa came up to his father, and they talked for nearly an
hour before the chief died. Father, not understanding the Sioux lan-
guage, could not know what was said, but he heard the son mount the
pony and ride away. He had placed a new pair of moccasins on his
father's feet, and on leaving threw away his own single-barreled shot-
gun and took the double-barreled gun of his father. The single-barrel
gun was afterward found by scouts.

After all sounds had died out father crept away, and he finally
reached Hutchinson about four o'clock the next morning. In the mean-
time, Chauncey had reached town about ten o'clock at night, and on
hearing the news a party of thirteen soldiers and five civilians was
organized to go to the scene of trouble. I accompanied them out to
our homestead, where we waited till nearly daybreak and then went
on to the place of the shooting. As I was familiar with every foot of

24



370 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

the ground, from having hunted over it time and again, I was slightly
in advance, leading the party.

On arriving at the turn in the road I saw a body lying at my feet
in the dull light of morning, and I was terror-stricken with the thought
that it was father, but it flashed through my mind that the bare breast
was copper-colored and not that of a white man, and without a second
glance I shouted, "Here he is, boys." We soon found the shirt which
father had lost, and some thought he had been killed, but from the
bullet holes in the shirt I knew that wound had been a slight one,
though I could not know but that he had been killed later. We could
not find him nor any more Indians, so we took up the trail of the pony.
Before we had gone a great way we were overtaken by a troop of
soldiers scouting for Indians, and they kept on the trail while we
returned to town. While we were gone, father had returned from
town to the place of shooting, with a neighbor and his team to take
the body into town. When he arrived at the body he found that the
troop in passing had taken the pains to scalp the Indian, probably to
get the reward offered by the state at that time for Indian scalps.
They placed the body in the wagon and drove back to Hutchinson, all
unaware that the corpse was that of the hated Little Crow.

The fact that there was one more "good Indian" was enough to add
to the joy of the celebration of the "Fourth." Among those in attend-
ance was Hiram Cummins, a private of Company E, Ninth Minnesota
Volunteers, who at once declared that the body was that of Little
Crow. Many treated his statement as a joke, but he said, "There is
no doubt about it. Here are marks that no man could mistake. He
has a row of double teeth all the way around, and both his wrists are
broken and ill set." On pulling up the skunk skins from the wrists
the truth was apparent, though hard to think true.

Little Crow's son, after leaving his father, went northwest-
ward to Devil's lake in Dakota, where he was captured later
in a starving condition by General Sibley's troops. When
killed Little Crow had on a coat which the son says was given
him by Hi-u-ka, the son-in-law. This coat was taken from
James McGannon, whom they murdered on the Kingston road
in Wright county. The bones of one arm and the skull and
scalp of Little Crow are in the Museum of this Historical So-
ciety. The remainder of his body was taken by the medical
fraternity and treated with their usual courtesies in such cases.



14



RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT

TO*- 202 Main Library



LOAN PERIOD 1
HOME USE


2


3


4


5


6



ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS



/.



DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 9S *


IEBL CIL QL4_$_








t)CT w 4 iyyt

AUTO DISC


CIRC APR 22 "93


SEP20iy7


* T




~S?


DISC CIRC DEC 18*9f


F E
J\PR


"SVED

29 i




MAH ? ^ i^> t


iCULATION OEPT.





C.I "^


^PR 2 8 2006


LIBRARY USE O

MAR 9. AUM


^CIRCULATION DPPTI

J. . -^ ^ 'M'JI

tfSCUKL MA )*V


CIRCULATION Dl


^PT. h


i iki ^


gOQft^






UN 1


Z007


LIBRARY USE


ONLY


r "ip /,


APR 2 2 t


993




W 2 9


:
CIRCULATIOf OEPT,





)N DL UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

FORM NO. DD6, 60m, 1/83 BERKELEY, CA 94720

$



RETURN TO the circulation desk of any
University of California Library

or to the

NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station
University of California
Richmond, CA 94804-4698

ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS

2-month loans may be renewed by calling
[phone]

1-year loans may be recharged by bringing
books to NRLF

Renewals and recharges may be made
4 days prior to due date

DUE AS STAMPED BELOW



APR 5 2007



JUN 1 8 21



DD20 15M 4-02

ia341212.us.archive.org/1/items/narrativesofsiou00sattrich/narrativesofsiou00sattrich_djvu.txt